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HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SKETCH 



OF 



CMYEN COUNTY, SO. CA. 



[from the APRIL KG. OF SOUTHERN QUARTERLY REVIEW.] 



Tms brochure from the Charleston press* constitutes a suf- 
ficient text for us, while wo seek to report the domestic and 
social histor}', from the earliest known periods, of the region 
of country in which the scene is laid. Our beginning is 
fairly made by Oldmixon in his "Carolina." "We come 
now," saith this old chronicler, to South-Carolina, which is 
parted from North by Zantee river. The adjacent county is 
called Craven county: it is pretty well inhabited by English 
and French ; of the latter, there is a settlement on Zanteo 

* The Golden Cliristma=i : a Chronicle of St. John's, Berkeley. Compiled from 
tho Notes of a Briefless Barrister. By the author i.f " The Yemasfeo," "Guy 
Ei/ers," '• Kathariac Walto.i," etc. Charlestoi.: Walker, Richards & Co. 1852. 

1 

* 



niSTORICAr, SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 






river; and they were vciy instrumental in the irregular 
election of the Unsteady assembly. * * * This county 
sends ten members to the assembly." This is all from him, 
but it is enough. '' The Unsteady assembly" is, itself, a text. 
We shall expatiate on what he has so briefly said, and add 
to the extent of the history, if we do not greatly increase its 
value. Our work is not that of the review exactly; but 
there is nothing misplaced in subjecting countries to the 
same treatment which we bestow on books. It is as an old 
resident that we give our regards to Craven county in South- 
Carolina. 

Local attachments are strongest among the inhabitants 
of the countr3\ Those especially whose 3'outh has been 
nurtured among mountains, are bound by a chain, stronger 
than adamant to the hoines of their inHincy. The denizen 
of a crowded metropolis is vain-glorious, perhaps proud, of 
his city, but he has no love for it. He forms a very insigni- 
ficant atom in the vast mass of humanity which surrounds 
him, and he easily transfers his affection to whatsoever por- 
tion of the world may contain his household gods. Not so 
with the rural citizen or the inhabitant of a village. No 
throng of uninterested spectators ever torments him with a 
consciousness of his own littleness. He feels that he is a 
man of note ; that he holds a conspicuous and an important 
place in society ; he can calculate the political value of his 
life. He doubts whether his existence is not necessary to 
the well-being of the world ; and he rewards, with the devo- 
tion of his whole heart, the spot which confers such impor- 
tance upon him. 

It has been remarked, in many localities, that the youth 
who had grown up amid them, however far they may have 
roamed in quest of fortune, invariably return to close their 
days within reach of the scenes hallowed by their early as- 
sociations. It is said that every sweep who ascends the 
chimneys of Paris, has constantly in his mind the picture of 
some cherished nook in the Savoy Alps, the hoj)e of return- 
ing to which as its owner, gives him courage to toil and for- 
titude to save the rewards of his labours. Think not, as you 
view the uninteresting faces of those apparently hapless 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. J 

children of poverty, that all is dark and desolate within their 
bosoms. They arc animated with a hope which many a 
more fortunate looking man miirht envy. Their hearts re- 
tain vividly the impressions of hnppiness once enjoyed, and 
beat with exaltation as each hour of toil brightens the pros- 
pect of resuming it. What, to them, are the tall and gloomy 
chimneys of the gay metropolis 1 tliey are the portals 
through which they approach their Alpine farms. But alas I 
well has the old French romancer sung : 

" Oh no le quittoz pas ; c'est moi qui vous le dis 
Le devant de la porte oii Ijii jonait jadis ; 
L'cglise ou tout enfant, dune voix douce et claire 
Vous chanliez ;'i la niosse aupres de votre mere ; 
Et la polite ecole, ou trainant chaque pas 
Vous alliez le matin — oh ne la quittez pas." 

He who would be happy amid the scenes of his infancy, 
must so live as to preserve the freshness of that age. Time 
and absence efface nearly all that was hallowed to the 
youthful mind ; and too frequently the success of the young 
adventurer, instead of leading him to the realization of his 
happiness, only awakens him from the enjoyment of a deli- 
cious day-dream. 

Next to mountains, the forest possesses an irresistible 
charm for the imagination. Its sublime loneliness is relieved 
by the endless changes which the seasons, in their order, 
bring forth, and each, in its turn, affects the mind of the be- 
holder. There is an indescribable charm in a northern fo- 
rest, when the earth is covered with snow, and the bare trees 
stand as if mourning over the desolation which has over- 
taken them. But the sweetest sensations arc those excited 
by the pine forests of our southern soil. Here ^lature dies 
not, but only takes her rest. Her trees, which give charac- 
ter to the scene, are always verdant, but their verdure has 
none of the witchery of a more genial season. The tall and 
branchless monarchs of the forest, rear their heads aloft to 
meet the rays of the sun, and as they catch the chilling blast 
which salutes them, utter a low and melancholy murmur of 



4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

complaint, as thej'' bow before the mysterious breeze. Nor 
is the prospect enlivened by the sight of animal life. The 
solitary woodpecker mingles no melody witli the tapping of 
his bill, as he industrionsly pursues his food. The hoarse 
croaking of the crow is in perfect harmony with the scene. 
The grey squirrel regards, ])arlly with astonishment, partly 
with alarm, the disturber of his quiet home. The whole 
scene is the abode of solitude, but not that which depresses 
the heart. 

" To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell — 

To slowly trace the forest's shady scene, 

"Where things that own not man's dominion dwell, 

And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been ; 

To climb the trackless mountain all unseen, 

With the wild flocks that never need a fold ; 

Alone o'er steeps and fuaming falls to lean. 

This is not solitude ; 'tis but to hold 

Converse with nature's charms, and view her charms unrollVl." 

That portion of Craven county which lies south of San- 
tee river, is marked by this species of solitary grandeur, 
heightened, however, by an association with former anima- 
tion. He who travels in winter from the bank of the San- 
tee Canal, towards the East, will find himself in an almost 
uninterrupted forest of pines. On his left lie the mysterious 
depths of the Santee Swamp, whose soil, once teeming with 
the rewards of industry, is now abandoned to the hand of 
nature : before and around him the tall pines, with their mel- 
ancholy moan, spread themselves in an apparently im- 
penetrable mass. Here and there a broad and well-worn 
avenue leading from the wood, or a stately time-honoured 
mansion, seen in the distance, heightens the sense of solita- 
riness, by suggesting ideas of society. As you proceed, you 
find yourself in the streets of a village ; but the houses are 
built with a special reference to the preservation of the 
trees ; and the closed doors and windows of these dwellings, 
their chimneys, from which issues no hospitable smoke, re- 
call vividly to the imagination the idea of a city of the dead. 
But the neat church, with its modest belfry, suggests the idea 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVHN COUNTY. 5 

of a christian lift^; while, on clcarin*;' tho skirts oC the vil- 
lage, a \vcll-l)f^■lte^ truck, witli all tlic apjioiiitmcnts of a 
race course, indicates that this eminently southern sport here 
has its votaries. The road now leaves all vestij^es of life, 
hut it is good, and there is a something about it, its firm and 
well-beaten track nearly overgi'own with turf, contrasting 
curiously with the neglected ditches which define its limits 
on either iide, that mysteriously recalls the notion of ancient 
grandeur — now it crosses one of the great highways to the 
metropolis; and now appears a low wooden building, con- 
taining one apartment, with a table extending nearl}' its 
whole length, and benches on either side. This is the club- 
house, where the citizens meet, from time to time, for the un- 
restrained enjoyment of social and convivial intercourse. 
At every step as you proceed, you find traces of former in- 
dustry. Large circular tumuli abound, bearing on their sur- 
face trees of venerable age, which have grown up since the 
mounds were formed in the process of making lar. And 
now, too, you see the trurdis of trees, with their barks neatly 
and carefully stripped to a great height, presenting, to a lively 
imagination, the appearance of an innumerable assemblage 
of tomb-stones. These are the marks of the turpentine 
gatherers, and this display of the presence of recent activity 
heightens the impression of the solitude which actually sur- 
rounds you. 

While the mind is thus carried from one depth of loneli- 
ness to another, a dull object appears indistinctly before you ; 
as you approach, its form gradually reveals itself, and soon 
the old parish church of St. Stephen stands before you — a 
handsome brick edifice ; it stands at the head of one road 
which comes from the south, and is so situated, that it may 
be seen at a considerable distance by those who ap|)roach it, 
either i'rom the east or the west, by the main or river road. 
The church tells a story of former grandeur and of present 
desolation ; though not large, it indicates a respectable con- 
gregation ; it is finished with neatness, with some pretensions 
even to elegance, and the beholder involuntarily mourns 
over the ruin to which it is doomed.* AH around it are 

* Since this has been wriiien, the public spirit of some of tlie citizcnsof Pine- 
fille and ii8 vicinity have repa iied tiie ciiurch, and divine service is occasionally 



6 tllSTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

graves ; these seem to be, literal!}-, runniiiq: into the woods : 
some are marked by stones, which record the virtues of those 
whose remains now form part of the soil ; some, set apart 
for families, are enclosed by walls of brick or of perishable 
timber ; and many are protected from the ravages of obtru- 
sive cattle, by logs rudely piled around ihe humble mound 
which covers the deceased. Of the monuments to the dead, 
some are in perfect harmony with the church ; the stones 
have fallen tVom their places, and the eye, with difficulty, 
deciphers the names of those who have long ceased to be 
numbered among the inhabitants of earth. Others have all 
the brightness which indicates that they have just left the 
hands of the sculptor; and here and there a melancholy 
mound is seen, whose freshness shows that time has not yet 
allowed this last memorial to be ollered to departed worth. 
Here, then, lie the dead of Craven county — here lie those 
whose taste planned, and whose energy reared, this elegant 
temple; and here, too, lie those who, but yesterda}', gazed 
like us upon this strange scene, and experienced the same 
emotions which now overpower our minds. Here, all is past. 
To them, the present is an impossibility. — The father and the 
son, the old and the young, the long forgotten, and the re- 
cently loved, all lie here together in one conunon past, and 
link it strangely and fearfully with the future I 

Before such a scene, what vague and undefined thoughts 
flit across the mind. If you stand on the north side of the 
church and look through the open doors, (and they are never 
closed,) you sec a road coming from the south, whose well 
beaten track the eye can distinguish, until the sense of sight 
is overpowered by the distance. On the right and on the 
left, the same dull, unbroken line of road is seen — llieir well- 
defined track is all that breaks the monotony of the forest ; 
and they, perhaps, even add to its impressiveness by opening 
a vista, through which its extent may be more sensibly felt. 
Strange and mysterious traces of life and of civilization ! To 

performed there. It is, lioweve,; doomed to. ruin. Situated beyond tlie conve- 
nient reach of the people, it is maintained only by a feeling of reverence for iho 
past. Ii is not hazarding much to predict thai this will not tull'ce to preserve it 
for any considerable period. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEX COUNTV. 7 

what end do ihcy nppear to have been constructed ? In this 
perfect solitude, whence do they come? Whither do they 
lead ? Strange, that in this spot tliey shouUi unite ! that they 
all lead to the grave ! that one oC them must liave been the 
last, over which tliese innumerable slumbcrers have been 
respectively borne! 

That portion of Craven county, which lies south of the 
Santee river, comprises the parishes ol" 8t. J.imes, Sanfee ; 
and St. Stephen's. Its extent to the north of the Santee ap- 
pears never to have been defined. Near tiie line which now 
divides these two parishes, stood the villnge of Jamestown, 
remarkable as being one of the principal settlements of the 
French Huguenots. In 1704, the church of England was, 
by Act of Assembly, established in South-Carolina, and two 
years afterwards, the French, of this town were, on their own 
petition, erected into a parish, and indulged with a ritual in 
their ow.n language. The whole of that long and narrow 
tract of land, which extends from the canal to the sea, (about 
fifty miles,) and lies between the river anil those parishes 
which constituted Berkeley county, was known as Santee 
parish, which, as it became settled, was distinguished into 
English and French Santee, from the character of its inhabi- 
tants; the former occupying the part since built by the des- 
cendants of the latter, and known as St. Stephen's parish. 
The French emigrants were attracted to three principal 
points out of Charleston : these were, the head-waters of 
Ashley river, Wassamassaw ; that large feeder of Cooper 
river, known as French Quarter Creek ; and Jamestown. 

Lawson, who visited the Santee in 1700. found about fifty 
French families settled on its banks; but he does not appear 
to have known of the existence of Jamestown. These 
Frenchmen, he says, generally follow a trade with the In- 
dians, for which they are conveniently situated. His brief 
notice of these people proves that they made a very favoura- 
ble impression upon him. In one passage he says : 

" Meeting with several creek?, the Frerch, wliom wc met coming 
from tlicir cliurcli, were very ofliciiais in assislii.g with liioir $mall dories 
to pass over these waters; lUcy were all dean and decent in their ap- 



8 HISTORICAL FKETCU OF CRAVEX COUiNTY. 

parol, their houses and plantations suitable in noatnoss and contrivance. 
They are all of the same oi'inion wiili the church of Geneva, there being 
no difference among- them concerning the iiunclilios of their christian 
faith; which union hath propagated a happy and deliglitful concord in 
all other matters throughout the whole neighbourhood ; living amongst 
themselves as one tribe or kindred, every one making it his l)usiness to 
bo assistant to the wants of his countrymen, preserving his estate and 
reputation with the same exactness and concern as he does his own ; all 
seemino- to share in the misfortunes, and rejoice in the advance and riso 
of their brethren." 

or tlicse FrenchiTien, who were destined to affect so pow- 
erfully the social condition of lower Carolina, it were to be 
wished that our traveller had given some ])articulnr.s in ad- 
dition to the above. He mentions having stopped at four 
houses — those of Mr. Muger, the ancestor of the numerous 
family of that name; of Mr. Gaillard, sen., and Mr. Gail- 
lard, jr., and of Mr. Gendron. 

The name of this last gentleman is extinct, but his blood 
flows in the veins of a numerous posteriiy. We, long ago, 
found a copy of his will, by which it appears that he had a 
son and five daughters. These married, respectively, Mr. 
Cordes, Mr. Porcher, Mr. Huger, and Mr. Prnileau. To each 
of them he bequeaths a sum of money and some articles of 
housekeeping, particularly feather-beds. To a fiftii daugh- 
ter, who was yet unmarried, (qui reste a marier) he leaves a 
double portion. Tradition has married her to a Mr, Doux- 
saint, without posterity. His son, .John, was his residuary 
le^^atee ; and to him he leaves his coopers' tools, his slaves, 
both negroes and Indians, and, among other enumerated ar- 
ticles, his swivels or cannons. Why a private citizen should 
be in possession of swivels is not very easily explained. It 
has been suggested that, about the year 1704, when the col- 
ony was at war with the authorities at St.. Augustine, the 
danger of a piratical Spanisli invasion might have induced 
all the substantial citizens on the rivers to provide them- 
selves with these arms. The first page of Mr. Gendron's 
will is the confession of faith cf an humble and grateful 
christian ; and his attachment to his church is exhibited by 
a moderate legacy to the churches at Jamestown and Charles- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 9 

ton — which, he says, " they shall continue to enjoy so long as 
they are reformed as they are at present." 

This respectable emigrant has not obtained a name in his- 
tory, but the traditions of Craven county still preserve it in 
connection with a little incident, which, in the hands of 
Sterne, might have served as the ground-work of an immor- 
tal work. Business having carried Mr. Gendron to Charles- 
ton, his absence was so long and so unaccountably jji-otracted, 
that his friends supposed him to have been lost. On Sun- 
day, while assembled at their house of worship in James- 
town, the preacher from his pulpit saw approaching, up the 
river, the canoe of his long-lost friend. Forgetting, in his 
joy, the sermon which he had prepared, with the exclama- 
tion, '* Voila, Mr. Gendron!" he announced his safe arrival, and 
rushed out, followed by the delighted congregation, to wel- 
come him whom they had mourned as dead. 

Mr. John Gendron, the son of this gentleman, is mentioned 
by Capt. Palmer, in the Appendix to Ramsay's South-Caro- 
lina, as the commander of a company of Charleston militia 
in the war against the Yemassees in 1715, Though never 
holding a commission higher than that of a colonel, yet, 
from being a very long time the senior colonel in the pro- 
vince, he was, by courtesy, invested with the title and dig- 
nity of a brigadier. His daughter married Mr. John Palmer, 
the father of the author of the article just referred to, and 
with him the name became extinct in South-Carolina. 

The French emigrants to this province appear to have 
been governed by a principle of common sense which re- 
flects infinite credit on their character. They regarded Car- 
olina as their home. Having placed themselves under the 
protection of the British crown, they resolved to conduct 
themselves like faithful subjects. Hence no attempt was 
made to perpetuate the remembrance of a distinct nation- 
ality. Their children were not encouraged to speak French ; 
and the great charity which they founded, bears the name, 
not of a sect, nor of a foreign nation, but the catholic name 
of that colony which they had adopted as their native land.* 

* The South-Carolina Society, which arose from the Two-Bit Club, A. D- 
1737. 

2 



10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

Still, however, in their domestic life, traces of their origin 
may be discovered. The pillaii is a common dish upon their 
tables, and I belive that in every Huguenot house on Santee, 
that cake, which the Ejiglish know as the waffle, is called 
the gauffre. In summer the superfluous fresh beef is still 
jerked for keeping, and potted beef and venison still continue 
to delight the senses of the people with their grateful savour. 
We are uncertain whether the general preference of coffee 
over tea is the result of an hereditary national taste, or 
whether it originated in the superior cheapness of the former 
article. Names still preserve their old pronunciations in that 
region, and, in spite of the refinements and improvements of 
modern society, the Duboses and Marions are pertinaciously 
called Debusk and Mahrion. 

Of the public life of those worthy emigrants who found a 
home on the banks of the Santee, few, if any, traces are to 
be found in our histories. The English portion of the popu- 
lation appear to have viewed them with feelings of hostility. 
In the disturbances which occurred during the turbulent ad- 
ministration of Gov. Moor, they are represented as having 
yielded too readily to the wishes of the constituted authori- 
ties, and to have aided materially in returning to the Assem- 
bly, members who were disposed to second and forward the 
ambitious views of the governor. During the administra- 
tion of Sir Nathaniel Johnston, who succeeded Gov. Moor, 
Mr. John Ash was sent by the English dissenters to plead 
their cause against the usurpations of the High Church 
party. In his representation of the affairs of the colony, he 
says : " That at the election for Berkley and Craven counties, 
the violence of Mr. Moor's time, and all other illegal prac- 
tises, were with more violence repeated, and openly avowed, 
by the present governor and his friends: Jews, strangers, 
sailors, servants, negroes, and almost every Frenchman in 
Craven and Berkley counties, came down to elect, and their 
votes were taken, and the persons by them voted for, were 
returned by the sheriffs." At this time it appears that 
Charleston was the only place in the colony at which polls 
were opened, and here it was necessary for citizens from 
every county to come, in order to enjoy the elective fran- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 11 

chise.* The Assembly they elected, established the Church 
of England in the colony, but with such provisions, that the 
Bishop of London, and the Society for Propagating the Gos- 
pel in America, resolved not to send or support any mission- 
aries in the province, until the act, or the clause relating to 
the establishment of lay commissioners, should be annulled. 
Oldmixon says that the law was declared null and void 
by Queen Anne, at the suggestion of the House of Lords; 
but, as the act still remains on the statute book, and the 
church continued from that date (1704,) to receive the aid of 
the state, as well as of the Society for Propagating the Gos- 
pel, it is more likely that the offensive clauses were ren- 
dered inoperative, without being formally annulled. The 
act of conformity was passed by a vote of twelve members 
against eleven dissentients. A full house numbered thirty 
members, so that this act was passed by little more than a 
third of the whole house. Every dissenter was thereupon 
turned out of his seat, and his place supplied by the person, 
being a churchman, who had the most votes next to him. 
In six months afterwards, the same Assembly, in a full house 
passed a bill to repeal the act, but it was rejected in the up- 
per house, and the governor, in great indignation, dissolved 
the Commons' House, by the name of the Unsteady Assembly. 

* Such appears to have been tlie custom. Mr. F. Yongp, in his account of the 
revolutionary proceedings in 1719, ilechircs it to have been so. The subject, how- 
ever, is not very clear. In the first place, it would have been difficult, in a town 
devoted tc the dissenting interest, for the concourse of voters from Colleton and 
Craven counties to create such disturbances as Oklmixon describes ; and, secondly 
the Act of Assembly of 1804, for better ordering elections,clearly intimates, though 
it does not direct, that a poll should be opened in each county. It provides — 1st. 
That no voles be takon by proxy ; 2d. That if the sheriffs neglect to hold a poll in 
a county, the people may vote in the adjoining one ; and, 3d. That the polls shall 
be held in an open and public place. But those counties had not, at that time, any 
Court House, and Mr, Yonge declares that the whole House of Assembly was 
chosen in Charleston, until the administration of Gov. Daniel, (1718,) when it was 
enacted that e/ery parish shall send a certain nuniherof delegraes, (36 in all,) who 
shall be ballotted for at their respective churches, or other convenient place, by vir- 
tue of writs directed to the church wardens, who were to make a return of the per- 
sons elected. It was the veto upon this act by Gov. Joh;ison, at the sugsiostion of 
Mr. Rhett and Chief Justice Trott, which wns one of the leading causes of the 
revolution of 1719, which shook off the Proprietary government. 



12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

During this period of the colonial existence, the only part 
of Craven county which was settled, was that portion now 
known as St. James' Santee, and, soon afterwards, called 
French Santee, to distinguish it from what was afterwards 
St. Stephen's Parish, or, as it was formerly called, English 
Santee. The legal separation of the two parishes was ef- 
fected in 1754, and the brick church, which we have noticed 
in the early part of this essay, was commenced in 1762. 

It has not been the lot of this section of countrj', to pro- 
duce many persons whose names have filled a niche in the 
temple of fame. The virtues of its citizens have been of a 
character more domestic, than those which generally receive 
the chaplet of immortality. Engaged in the quiet and all- 
absorbing pursuits of agriculture, they cared not to stir in 
the bustling world of politics ; and, as a proof of the con- 
tented spirit of the people, it may be remarked, that in the 
war of the revolution, a large number adhered to the king. 

Agriculture and Indian trade were the occupations of the 
early French settlers ; the latter source of profit was extin- 
guished by the gradual settlement of the country — the for- 
mer continued to give wealth to its votaries. The French, 
from the quarter of Wassamassaw, gradually left their seats 
and settled on the fertile bank of the Santee, and, by the 
commencement of the revolution, English Santee, or St. Ste- 
phens', had passed almost entirely into their hands. 

Among the French, an individual, whose name has not 
transpired, adopted a pursuit which many will suppose char- 
acteristic. " A French dancing-master," says Oldmixon, 
*' settling in Craven county, taught the Indians country 
dances, to play on the flute and the hautboy, and got a good 
estate ; for it seems the barbarians encouraged him with the 
same extravagance as we do the dancers, singers and fid- 
dlers of his countrymen." 

One citizen of this parish, has earned for himself a name 
in the world of letters ; and it is strange that Ramsay, who 
appears to have sought eagerly after Carolinian celebrities, 
should have entirely ignored his existence. Thomas Wal- 
ter, an English gentleman, whose devotion to the cause of 
science led him to the wilds of Carolina, was attracted by 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 13 

the charms of Miss Peyre, of St. Stephens — married her and 
settled there. He devoted himself particularly to the pur- 
suit of Botany ; and the curious are still occasionally re- 
warded by a visit to his garden, the ruins of which may 
still be seen near the banks of the Santee canal. He is the 
ancestor of one branch of the Porcher family, and of the 
Charlton family of Georgia. His book, the Flora Carolinianay 
which was printed in London, in 1789, is dated ad Ripas 
Fluvii Santee. 

Walter was married a short time before the battle of 
Black Mingo. Among the loyalist officers who were defeat- 
ed on that occasion, was Mr. John Peyre, the brother of 
Mrs. Walter. Marion's patience had been sorely tried by 
the pertinacity with which these gentlemen maintained the 
conflict, and for this reason, and perhaps as a sort of retalia- 
tory measure for the unjustifiable deportation of the Charles- 
ton prisoners to St. Augustine, he vowed a terrible revenge 
against any who might hereafter fall into his hands. It 
was Mr. Peyre's fate to be captured, and to experience this 
revenge. He was allowed none of the privileges awarded 
to prisoners of war, but sent to Philadelphia for safe keep- 
ing ; and there, for several months, dragged out a misera- 
ble existence in a loathsome dungeon ; when at length, re- 
leased, he was unceremonious!}^ turned into the street, al- 
most naked and altogether miserable. In his distress, he 
accosted a Quaker in the street, whose benevolent face at- 
tracted him. The Quaker heard his story, and taking fifty 
dollars from his pocket, gave them to him, advising him to 
procure decent clothing, and go home. Mr. Peyre earnestly 
entreated that he might learn the name of his generous be- 
nefactor, in order that, when in his power, he might dis- 
charge the obligation ; but the old man refused. " Consider 
this money," said he, " as a loan; and you will sufiiciently 
discharge it b}'^ giving to any one whom you shall find in 
circumstances of similar distress." 

The name of Peyre, once an honoured and a flourishing 
name in this parish, is now extinct. The last who bore it was 
Thomas Walter Peyre, grandson of the botanist, a gentle- 
man whom none knew but to love, honour and esteem. Mo- 



14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

dest and retiring, even to a fault, he was, in all other re- 
spects, a perfect model of a useful country gentleman. 
His home was the abode of religion, order, skill, economy 
and enlightened liberality. His friends were devoted, and 
the rectitude of his principles, and the general amiability of 
his conduct, gained him the good will and respect of all. 
His death has caused a chasm in his circle, which will not 
be filled whilst the freshly turned turf continues to announce 
the recentness of his decease : and, as he never married, the 
name of Peyre was buried in his grave. 

Though the body of Marion reposes in a grave in St. Ste- 
phen's parish. Craven county cannot number him among her 
notabilities. Both Georgetown and St. John's Berkley 
claim the honour of his birth. The latter was, unquestion- 
ably, the place of his residence. 

But the widow of General Marion certainly did live and 
die in St. Stephen's parish ; and there also lived a large 
number of his friends, relations and companions in arms. 
There, especially, was his memory revered ; and there, to this 
day, you will hear but one opinion expressed respecting the 
merits of Weems's life of Marion — that of unmitigated dis- 
gust. 

We have not the smallest disposition to detract from the 
merit of General Marion. We have a child's recollection of 
his widow ; we never knew her but as my grand-mama, for so 
she insisted on being called by every child ; and we have been 
taught to believe, as an article of religion, that her husband 
was vilely treated by his reverend biographer. We have seen 
this book circulating in every part of the United States, 
and were always ready, to the expressions of admiration 
with which its perusal is every where else greeted, to reply 
with the scornful sneer of superior knowledge, that Ma- 
rion's friends rejected the book as a libel on his fair fame. 
The indignation with which the book was received, is hardly 
yet appeased. The offended widow loudly declared that she 
would willingly, if in her power, punish the transgressor 
with stripes; and numerous friends sympathised with -her 
outraged feelings. But now that nearly fifty years have 
passed, what is the true estimate to be placed upon the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 15 

book ? Next to Washington, what general of revolutionary 
memory has so wide a fame ? From the Hudson to the ex- 
tremity of the Far West, from Florida to the Falls of St, 
Anthony, his name is perpetuated in towns, counties and 
colleges. And what is the cause of this unusual popularity ? 
Surely not the brief notices of his exploits in any general 
history of the war. Surely not the extensive circulation of 
his biography by Judge James.* No; it is the irresistible 
influence of Weems's book — a work whose popularity daily 
increases ; and which is destined to transmit to posterity, in 
colours ever brightening, the memory of the active and 
clever leader of the undaunted whigs of Carolina. Peace- 
ful be the repose of the venerable lady and her generous 
allies ; they owe to their supposed columniator, a debt of 
gratitude. For, so long as Marion's name shall be honoured , 
posterity will reverence the virtuous lady who blessed him 
with her love. 

It is well known that General Marion never had a chid. 
With that instinctive desire of living in posterity, which 
clings to us, and becomes more urgent as we advance to- 
wards the termination of our career, he adopted a nepheXv, 
who assumed his name. But by a singular fatality, this 
gentleman, who was twice married, and had eleven daugh- 
ters, never had the happiness to see a son. Two young men, 
great-nephews of the general, are all who are left to per- 
petuate this ancient Huguenot name. It is to be hoped that 
they will be mindful of the sacred duty committed to them, 
and faithfullv discharge it. 

The most eminent military character which the revolution 
produced, in this parish, was Col. Hezekiah Maham. Like 
the respected names of Gendron and Pe^'re, this, too, has 
become extinct. Maham was a colonel of cavalry in the 
revolutionary war, and was distinguished, not only for his 
gallantry, but, also, for a certain skill in the art of reducing 
fortified places. It was at his suggestion that the expedient 
was first adopted, (similar, by the way, to the method prac- 

* We do not mentioa Simms's Biography, because that having been executed 
within a few years, has had, and could have had, no influence in producing this effect. 



16 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTV. 

tised in the middle ages,) of constructing, against such 
places, a tower of logs, so high as to command them. This 
was first practised at Fort Watson, and the description of 
Weems which I give, is all that can be wished. "Finding 
that the fort mounted no artillery, Marion resolved to make 
his approaches in a way that should give his rillemen a fair 
chance against the musqueteers. For this purpose, large 
quantities of pine logs were cut, and as soon as dark came 
on, were carried in perfect silence within point Idank shot 
of the fort, and ran up in the shape of large pens or chim- 
ney stacks, considerably higher than the enemy's parapels. 
Great, no doubt, was the consternation of the garrison, next 
morning, to see themselves thus suddenly overlooked by this 
strange kind of steeple, pouring down upon them, from its 
blazing tops, incessant showers of rifle bullets. * * * * 
Our riflemen lying above them, and firing through loop- 
holes, were seldom hurt ; while the British, obliged, every 
time they fired, to show their heads, were frequently killed." 
Weems, who does not once mention Maham's name in his 
book, ascribes the invention solely to Marion. Lee, on the 
contrary, gives Maham credit, both for the design and the 
execution ; and he frequently, afterwards, speaks of the Ma- 
ham tower, as an efficient and decisive means of reducing 
the simple forts of the interior. 

Not the least evil attendant upon civil war, is, that no- 
tions of right and wrong become so confounded in our 
minds, that we are more disposed to reconcile morality with 
practice, than practice morality. They who see acts of ag- 
gression and violence practised with applause, are apt to 
forget, that they are commendable only under the severe law 
of necessity, and that under other circumstances, they arc 
rightly considered as crimes. Men, whose opinions are en- 
titled to respect, have not hesitated to ascribe the public 
crimes, which not long since afilicted England, to the vio- 
lences which the circumstances of civil war justified or ex- 
cused ; so that many a marauder and highwayman only con- 
tinued as a crime, that course of life which he had been en- 
couraged to commence as a duty. 

These consecutive evils of civil war were felt in Carolina. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTV. 17 

After the revolution, the highways w^ere unsafe. Many 
now living, recollect that persons rarely ventured to tra- 
vel the Goose Creek road without arms; and the public exe- 
cution of a man and his wife, in Charleston, for highway 
robbery, as late as 1820, bear fearful testimony to the inse- 
curity of life and property, even in the neighbourhood of the 
metropolis. 

Besides highway robbery, horse-stealing was a common 
crime. Many engaged in it ; but two individuals, by name 
Roberts and Brown, organized it, and conducted it as a mat- 
ter of business. One, or both of these men, was hanged in 
Charleston, in 1789. They had their agents and depots ar- 
ranged and organized; and from the Santee to the wilds of 
Florida, they and their confederates were at once the nui- 
sance and the terror of the country. 

Mr. Thomas Palmer lived on his plantation, on Fair Forest 
Swamp. Like other planters of the times, he possessed a 
large and valuable collection of horses, one of which, called 
Fantail, was an especial favourite. Early one morning, fhe 
discovered that his stables had been opened in the night, and 
his best horses stolen. The alarm was quickly spread, and 
in a few hours a party of gentlemen set off, under the lead 
of Col. Maham, in pursuit of the stolen property. It was 
difficult to track the fugitives, but as suspicion naturally 
rested on Roberts and his gang, they directed their course 
towards Orangeburg, which was one of his hoad-q carters. 
After travelling a few miles, they met Mr. Kene Ravenel, 
who being informed of the object of their search, informed 
them, that having been out early that morning, he had seen 
a horse, about a quarter of a mile off, crossing the road — 
that a momentary glance at the hinder part of the animal, 
which was all that he saw, convinced him that it was Mr. 
Palmer's horse. The circumstance would have passed from 
his memory, but for this meeting. He conducted the party 
to the spot ; numerous tracks were found, and the party, now 
confirmed in their suspicions, continued with renewed alac- 
rity, determined to make a certain house in Dean Swamp 
the first object of their visit. 

A short time betbre night-fall, they approached the house, 



18 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

and determined to remain concealed until the night should 
be well advanced. A horse was heard to neigh; several 
answered, and Mr. Palmer, turning to Col. Maham, said : 
"Uncle Maham, I'll pledge my life that that is the voice of 
Fantail." A country man happening to pass, was detained 
as a prisoner. He acknowledged that he was bound to the 
house which the party intended to visit, and acquainted 
them that a large gathering of men and women was expect- 
ed there that night for a frolic. With this information, they 
were sure of their game ; and having divided themselves 
into a convenient number of parties, they separated, appoint- 
ing to approach the house on a certain signal, which would 
be given by Col. Maham. Every thing succeeded. When 
the noise within indicated that the frolic was going on fast 
and furious, the signal was given ; the parties simultaneously 
entered the house, and the marauders found themselves sud- 
denly affronted by armed guests, whose presence boded them 
no good. They fled. The women, on the contrary, fought 
boldly ; and Col. Maham declared, that if they had been sec- 
onded by their gallants, the pursuing party would have been 
defeated. Aided by the courageous defence of the ladies, 
most of the marauders escaped ; the captured were summa- 
rily disposed of; each was tied to a tree and flogged. The 
party then, recovering their stolen horses, returned home- 
wards, leaving their prisoners, each at his tree, to be relieved 
when their friends should have recovered sufficient courage 
to go to their assistance. 

Whatever may have been Col. Maham's reputation as a 
soldier, it appears that he had rather crude notions of the 
duties of the citizen. He became indebted, and his creditor 
was importunate. Recourse was had to legal process, and a 
sheriff"'s officer proceeded to serve him with a writ. 

One morning, just as the colonel was about to sit down 
to his breakfast, a stranger was announced. He went out 
to give him a hospitable greeting, and was instantly served 
with a writ. The old whig survej'^ed the document with 
feelings of astonishment and indignation. That he, who had 
perilled his life and fortune in defence of his country's liber- 
ties, should be thus bearded in his own castle, and threat- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 19 

ened with the loss of his own, was a thought not to be 
borne ; and he instantly determined to make the unfortunate 
instrument of his creditor the victim. He returned the 
parchment to the officer, with an order (and the colonel 
never gave a vain order) that he should instantly swallow- 
it ; and when the dry meal was fairly engulphed.he brought 
the man into the house and gave him good liquor to wash it 
down. 

But the colonel discovered, like too many others who had 
borne the burden and heat of the day, that the civil power 
was in the ascendant, and that writs are not to be served 
up as a morning's meal. He fled the country, and remained 
an exile until the difficulty was removed by the intervention 
of his friends. He died as he had lived, on his plantation 
on Santee Swamp, and was buried there. His house was 
destro3-ed by fire many years since ; but we remember to have 
seen its chimneys standing. Within a few years, a massive 
marble monument, visible from the road, has been erected 
over his grave, by his descenda?:t, Lieut. Gov. Ward. 

Until the year 1794, the citizens of this parish, like those 
of every other part of the State, lived always on their plan- 
tations, throughout the year. Some of the more wealthy 
had town residences, to which they resorted, partly for 
health, but chiefly for the convenience of educating their 
children. 

The period between the close of the war and 1794, was 
full of disaster to the agriculturist. The bounty on indigo, 
which, under the fostering care of Great Britain, had ren- 
dered that plant the staple of South-Carolina, having been of 
course withdrawn, indigo became thenceforth an unprofita- 
ble culture. The Santee swamp, which appeared, at one 
time, to be an inexhaustible source of wealth, had become, 
from the frequency, the greatness and the irregularity of the 
freshets in the river, extremely precarious ; and many a 
planter, the amount of whose possessions would have ranked 
him among the wealthy, saw in his wealth only an increase 
of expense, and felt all the privations of poverty. In the 
year 1794, cotton was first cultivated in St. John's parish by 



10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

General Moultrie, and, in two years after, it became the sta- 
ple of the country. 

It had been observed that those persons who lived in the 
pine lands, were usually exempt from those distressing au- 
tumnal intermittent fevers, which are the bane of our coun- 
try ; and several gentlemen determined to avail themselves 
of this fact, for the purpose of improving the social condi- 
tion of the country. Accordingly, in 1794, Capt. John Pal- 
mer, Capt. Peter Gaillard, Mr. John Cordes, Mr. Samuel 
Porcher, Mr. Peter Porcher and Mr. Philip Porcher, built 
for themselves, houses in the pine land, near to each other, 
and thus laid the foundation of Pineville, the oldest settle- 
ment of the kind in the southern country. The experiment 
proved successful, and in a few years, it became the sum- 
mer residence of the planters of St. Stephen's parish, and 
of those of upper and middle St. Johns. 

Pineville is situated on a low flat ridge, thickly covered 
with pines, and dotted with small ponds and savannahs. It 
lies two miles south of Santee swamp, and five miles from 
the river. Though the principal growth is pine, it is not 
what we call a pine barren ; for the red oak and the hickory, 
which flourish on a soil under which the clay lies at no great 
depth, indicate a considerable degree of natural fertility. 
On the south, about a quarter of a mile from the nearest 
house, meanders the Crawl branch — a swampy stream, which, 
a few miles below, feeds the Santee by the name of the 
Horsepen creek ; at the same distance to the north, is Mar- 
gate swamp, a huckleberry bay, without any decided water 
course, which protrudes from the Santee swamp. At the 
period of its greatest prosperity, the village contained about 
sixty substantial and well built houses ; each situated in a 
lot of from one to two acres in area. The pine trees were 
religiously preserved, not only within the lots, but without. 
Those which were uninclosed, being the property of the pub- 
lic, were protected by a fine of five dollars, imposed on any 
person who should cut down, or by any wanton injury, threa- 
ten the life of a tree. 

An opinion generally prevails, that the village lost its 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 21 

healthfulness in consequence of the violation of these regu- 
lations by the people ; who cut down their trees, and culti- 
vated gardens. Never was opinion more erroneous. In all 
of the original lots, traces of cultivation may be seen. It 
was not then considered dangerous to indulge in the luxury 
of a garden. Farms, too, appeared in close neighbourhood 
to the village. On the west, Greenfield farm might be seen 
from the village. Clark's farm lay between it and the 
Crawl ; and to the south-west, the Polebridge farm of Mr. 
Thos. Palmer, could be seen from our father's house. But in 
1834, all this had been long changed. Not a garden cheered 
the eye of a resident; and the corporation of the Pineville 
Academy had purchased all these farms, and abandoned 
them to the possession of the pines, for the purpose of insu- 
ring the healthfulness of the place. 

Health, the primary object for which Pineville was settled, 
being attained, the other objects soon followed, of course. 
In 1805, a grammar school was established, and chartered 
under the name of the Pineville Academy, and commenced 
a prosperous career under the administration of Mr. Alph- 
eus Baker, a native of New Hampshire. Mr. Baker's repu- 
tation attracted students from various parts of the country, 
and his administration was, ever afterwards, regarded as a 
standard by which the merit of any of his successors was to 
be judged. He was followed, successively, by Mr. Lowry, 
Mr. Snowden and Mr. Stevens, all of South-Carolina ; Mr. 
Gordon, of Maine, Mr. Gillet, of Vermont, Messrs. Cain, 
Daniel and Furman, of South-Carolina ; Messrs. Fisk, 
Houghton, Gere and Leland, of Massachusetts. On the 
death of the last named gentleman, in 183G, of the prevail- 
ing epidemic, all confidence in the heathfulness of the vil- 
lage being lost, the exercises of the school were, for several 
years, suspended. 

Besides these gentlemen here named, others were occa- 
sionally employed as assistants, whenever the number of 
scholars justified the expenditure; and until the breaking up 
of the village, in 183G, the state of the school generally war- 
ranted the empioyment of an assistant. The principal 
teacher was elected by the Board of Trustees, for one year. 



22 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

He was provided with a house, received a salary of a thou- 
sand dollars, and was required to receive a certain number 
of boarders at a fixed rate. These boarders were for the 
winter months onl)'-, as their parents were generally in the 
village in summer. It would, perhaps, be invidious to no- 
tice, more particularl}'^, any of these gentlemen. I shall 
make one exception. Mr. Yorick Sterne Gordon appeared 
before the Trustees, with credentials from the highest au- 
thority in New England. A letter from the venerable Jede- 
diah Morse, secured his election. He went to Pineville with 
a large collection of school books, all of which he intro- 
duced into the Academy, and on his first appearance in the 
school-room, spoke so threateningly to the boys, that such an 
impression was made on their minds, that he never had oc- 
casion to resort to punishment. He exacted lessons from 
the boys of inordinate length, and many a tear have we shed 
when bed-time found uft with our task not more than half 
accomplished. Never did man so completely subdue the 
spirits of a set of boys. And yet, out of school, he was so- 
ciable, and appeared disposed to promote their little plea- 
sures but still he was uncertain, and had we been more 
conversant with the world, we should have called him ca- 
pricious. At a certain hour, every day, he was in the habit 
of retiring from the school-house, to his dwelling, where he 
would spend a short time ; on his return, he was observed 
never to follow the beaten path, but to approach the school- 
house by zig-zag lines ; and, to our simple apprehensions, 
this strange conduct was supposed to be directed with a 
view of keeping the window of the school-house always in 
sight, so that he could watch the boys, even when he was 
not present. How long this fascination might have lasted, 
J cannot say ; for, in less than three months after his instal- 
lation, the spring holidays, for a fortnight, commenced ; and 
before they were over, Mr. Gordon was dead. He died of 
delirium tremens, and his assistant declared that he had not 
been sober a single day since his arrival. 
|] The people of Pineville, would never become a corporate 
body. All administrative powers were, therefore, assumed 
by the Board of Trustees. Those being overseers of a 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. f23 

school, they gradually became th«^. council of a town, thus 
happily illustrating the insidious progress of usurpation. 
They acquired, either by gift or purchase, all the unoccu- 
pied lands, and as owners of the soil, made such wholesome 
regulations as circumstances appeared to demand. 

In addition to the school, a public library was organized. 
This, wo believe, was originated by the public spirit of Mr. 
Robert Marion, formerly a member of Congress from the 
Charleston District. The first house used for the purpose, 
had been a chapel of ease to the parish church, about two 
miles to the west of the village. After the erection of the 
church in Pineville, this chapel became useless, and it was 
taken down and rebuilt in Pineville. A partition wall di- 
vided it into two rooms, whereof the inner one w^as set 
apart for the reception of books, and the outer, being a sort 
of anti-chamber, was used on public occasions as a town 
hall. In this room, the patriots usually celebrated the fourth 
of July, and on that day the walls, which had formerly re- 
echoed only to the sound of anthems and holy songs, were 
made to resound with the noise of revelry and uproarious 
patriotism. In 1826, a new librar}' building was erected, 
and the old one, being sold at public auction, was purchased 
by a person w^ho used the materials for the construction of 
a livery stable. As it is fashionable to call all libraries se- 
lect, we suppose we must apply the epithet to this one also. 
But as we cannot find any catalogue of books, which ex- 
ceeds a thousand volumes, we are constrained to add, that it 
does not appear to reflect much credit on the literary enter- 
prise of the citizens. With the destruction of Pineville, that 
of the library followed. The books were either lost or de- 
stroyed : and we doubt whether the shelves now contain a 
single volume. 

The citizens of Pineville being all planters, long residents 
in the country, and, for the most part, descendants of the 
Huguenotsj of Santee parish, w^ere almost, as a matter of 
course, attached to the Episcopal church. For several 
years after the foundation of the vill;!ge, divine service con- 
tinued to be pprformed in the parish church. But the course 
of events changed completely the condition of the parish. 



24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

and by the year 1808, the church was, as it were, left in the 
wilderness, and the service discontinued. For a short pe- 
riod, Mr. Baker officiated every Sunday, as lay reader in the 
chapel, near the village, and it was then determined to en- 
joy the advantages of religious worship at home. A neat 
wooden church was accordingly erected in the village, and 
placed under the rectorship of the Rev. C. B. Snowden. 
Chapels for winter service, by the same rector, were soon af- 
terwards erected in St. John's Berkley, at Black Oak, and 
the Rocks; so that, though there were three different places 
of worship, the congregation was considered but one. 

The erection of the two chapels in St. John's Berkley gave 
rise to a law-suit of a singular character, which completely 
destroyed the social relations existing between the upper 
and lower portions of that parish ; but as this is foreign to 
the history of Craven county, we shall not notice it here. 

After a service of about ten years, Mr. Snowden retired 
from the rectorship of the church, and was succeeded by the 
Rev. D. J Campbell, who died at his post, in 1840 The 
churches were then vacant for nearly three j'ears, un'il, in 
1842, they were filled by the present worthy and efficient 
rector, Mr. W. Dehon, who is assisted by the Rev. C. P. 
Gadsden.* 

In the olden time, a sermon \vas preached every Sunday 
morning. In the afternoon, the congregation re-assembled, 
and evening prayers were read. No sermon followed ; none 
was expected ; I may add, none was desired. 

In most country churches there is some difficult}^ about 
singing. Many, who can sing, shrink from the notoriety of 
assuming the functions of chorister, and, very often, the 
office is discharged by one who has no merit beyond his zeal 
to recommend his performance. This difficulty was gener- 
ally experienced in Pineville, and the whole service was fre- 
quently performed without music. Old Capt. Palmer, the 
patriarch of the village, certainly possessed no musical tal- 
ents, but he had zeal, and fancied that he could accomplish 
the hundredth psalm. This was, accordingly, the standing 
psalm of the morning ; and the old chorister, taking courage 
from his success, would, at times, boldly undertake other 

» Mr. Gadsden is now Assistant Rector of St. Philips Church, Charleston. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 25 

pieces of music. Now, it is always the fate of a country 
chorister to be the object of envy. They who witness his 
success, are apt to fancy that they can do equally well. It 
so happens, therefore, that the chorister is liable to perpetual 
attacks, and if he is not very prompt, will find the song ta- 
ken out of his mouth by these pretenders. So hath it ever 
been. So was it with Capt. Palmer. Others attempted to 
take the lead ; but the indignant musician was not to be 
driven from his post. Sing he would ; and it was not un- 
common for a whole stanza to be sung at the same time to 
two different tunes. In the end, however, all competition 
ceased, and the old gentleman reigned undisputed Director 
of Music* It cannot be denied that, for a considerable pe- 
riod, our prophecy had a literal fulfilment in Pineville, for 
the songs of the temple were bowlings. One incident oc- 
curred there lately, of so ludicrous a character, that I cannot 
help narrating it, though it may appear inconsistent with the 
dignity of history. The rector was in feeble health ; he had 
given out a hymn to be sung before the sermon, and retired 
to the vestry-room to make the usual change of his vest- 
ments. The worthy chorister, who from his place could see 
indistinctly into the vestry-room, fancied I'that he saw the 
rector in a recumbent position, and imagined that, fatigued 
with the morning service, he was taking repose. Determined, 
therefore, to allow him ample time to rest himself, he had 
no sooner finished the hymn, than he recommenced it, and 
sang it over again, to the astonishment of the whole con- 
gregation, as well as of the rector, who had entered the pul- 
pit unperccived by his worthy friend, and was quietly wait- 
ing for the music to cease, in order to begin his sermon. 
About the year 1822 or 1823, a peripatetic singing-master 

* This difficulty appears, by an old tradition, to liavo been unfelt by our ances- 
tors. Their zeal was frequently too ardent, and the delicate car of the parson was 
in danger of being overpowered by strong and discordant voices. Mr. Richebourg, 
the pastor of Jamestown, whose attachment to Mr. Gendron was so 7mj«c/y exhib- 
ited, as described in our notice of Jamestown, was not blinded, by his friendship 
into any indiscreet admiration of his voice. Thus, after announcing the hymn, he 
would say : '' Don't sing, Mr. Gendron : your voice is like a goat's ; you be quiet. 
Mr. Gueny, your voice .is sweet ; you may sing." I presume Capt. Palmer inher- 
ited both the voice and the zeal of his great ancestor. 
3 



r^ 



26 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

visited Pineville, and, partly for the purpose of improvement 
in psalmody, partly to vary the general monotony of village 
life, the young people formed a class, which he instructed 
every alternate Saturday. 

All professional singing-masters have something odd about 
them. Their vocation is to teach sacred music ; and whether 
it is, that they are labouring to reconcile their manners with 
the supposed dignity of their employment, or whether it is 
owing to something in the very nature of the calling, which 
makes the profession ridiculous, we cannot determine. Cer- 
tain it is, however, that from the time of David Gamut, (who, 
by the way, was not created when our singing-master flour- 
ished,) down to the itinerant professor of Tinkum, the pro- 
fessor of the science of psalmody has ever been the butt of 
ridicule. Burbidge, the Pineville professor, was no excep- 
tion ; but, owing to the habitual gravity of his scholars, he 
experienced less, perhaps, than most others have done else- 
where. Who he was, or whence he came, we could never 
learn. Regularly, on every alternate Saturday, he was at 
his post in the church, instructed his class, and after parta- 
king of the hospitality of a friendly bachelor, who most ir- 
reverently made game of him, he appeared at church next 
day and comforted the heart of the good rector by discharg- 
ing, ex cathedra, the office of chorister. This done, he dis- 
appeared, and no more was heard of him for a fortnight. 
He was a brownish man, about the middle size, with jet 
black, curly, or ratherish kinky hair, very hiock-kneed, and 
his skin-tight nankeen trowsers scarcely reaching below the 
calf, displayed this pci-fection of his figure to the greatest 
advantage. At that time, psalmody was always taught by 
means of what was called sohnization, or a systematic ar- 
rangement of the syllables, soh la, mi, fa, by which a tune 
was sung in all of its parts without any reference to the 
words ; and the great point for the learner to ascertain in order 
to accomplish this, was to determine the place of mi. Now, 
we have no doubt all this was no more intelligible to Bur- 
bidge than it is to the greater part of our readers. To sup- 
ply the deficiency of ignorant teachers, books were printed, 
in which these mystic syllables are indicated by the shape 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 27 

of the notes ; but these, of course, would never be employed 
by a really competent teacher. This book, however, Bur- 
bidge used, His class was arranged in three divisions, form- 
ing three sides of a square ; on the right sat the bass, in the 
centre the air, and the treble on the left. He stood in the 
centre. Then, after preluding a few notes, giving the pitch 
to each of the parts in succession, the music would com- 
mence, and he, with the palm of his left hand tunu'd up- 
wards, and that of his right downwards, would beat time, 
imitating the motions of a top sawyer. His class was de- 
corous, but decorum could not always resist the strange efTect 
of his solemn motions. We have seen mcBSlri in various opera 
houses in Europe and America, and have sometimes laughed 
at the enthusiasm they displayed ; but never did we see one 
more thoroughly occupied in admiration of his work, than 
this humble ma;slro of the village school. 

Humble as he was, however, he produced fruit which was 
destined to be permanent. From the practice of singing in 
the class, confidence was acquired, and the church was no 
longer dumb. The humble foundation being laid, a better 
taste began to develop itself But some of his tunes pos- 
sessed sterling merit, and in the psalmody of those churches 
tunes are still sung, which were taught to the parents of the 
present generation by the obscure Burbidge. 

All the objects which were hoped to result from the found- 
ing of Pineville were now accomplished. The people were 
blessed with health, a school flourished, and placed the means 
of a classical education within the reach of many who would 
otherwise have wanted that advantage, and a church was 
opened every Sunday for religious worship. Let us now 
devote a short time to the consideration of social and do- 
mestic life in Pineville. 

The inhabitants were all planters. They met without any 
consciousness of social inequalities, and as there were no 
persons either above nor beneath them, their manners were 
distinguished by the most perfect simplicity and absence of 
every sort of affectation. They were all cotton planters, 
and had, therefore, the same interests, the same wishes, the 
same hopes, the same fears. In process of time, by means 



28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

of intermarriage, they were all connected with each other 
and related by blood, so that it was a community in which 
the most perfect unity of sentime it and of thought prevailed. 
Their habits of living were as simple as their manners. It 
was long before any enterprising person conceived the idea 
of opening a market, so that the planters were supplied from 
the produce of their farms. On a certain day in every week 
a calf was killed and distributed among a club of eight per- 
sons, who united for that purpose. In the early life of the 
village, he who killed the calf, having for his portion the 
head as well as the loin, entertained all the villagers at his 
house and regaled them with calf's head soup. On another 
certain day, a lamb or a porker (called a shoat) was killed 
and divided among four families. Then eight or sixteen would 
unite for the purpose of killing and distributing a cow. Thus 
for three days in the week a supply of butcher's meat was fur- 
nished. The wants of the remaining days were furnished from 
the resources of the poultry houses of the planters. In the 
course of time a beef market was opened twice a week for the 
sale of that article. The veal, lamb and pork were always fur- 
nished as we have described. The Santee river being near, it 
might have been expected that fish would frequently find its 
way to the table ; but the supply M'as meagre and fish was 
always a rarity. An enterprising Yankee in the neighbour- 
hood would have made a good business by following the oc- 
cupation of a fisherman. The bream of the Santee, taken 
from the neighbourhood of Pineville, is one of the most deli- 
cious fish that is eaten. 

Pineville was an isolated community. Situated about 
fifty miles from Charleston, in a part of the district remote 
from the great thoroughfares, and never frequented by way- 
faring men, it was cut off from all social intercourse with 
people elsewhere. When the month of June found all the 
villagers assembled for the summer, their feelings were some- 
what fanalogous to those of persons who meet together on 
board of a ship for the purpose of making a long voyage. All 
commerce with the external world seemed interdicted. En- 
tertaining an indefinable feeling of distrust of the climate of 
the country, they regarded their village with a sort of super- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 29 

stitious affection, and viewed as a calamity any accident 
which might make it necessary to spend a single night else- 
where. The air was not to be changed. Whether for better 
or for worse, he who commenced the season by breathing 
the air of Pineville, must continue to do so ; or if he left it, 
he should not return before autumn. It is not strange, there- 
fore, that the sense of mutual dependence was intense. 

And sweet and balmy is that Pineville air ; inviting repose, 
tranquillizing the troubled frame, and filling the mind with 
sweet and hopeful thoughts. When the lungs, vexed and 
harassed by the dust of the metropolis, and the cruel east 
winds of the coast, inhale the soft and fragrant breath of the 
pines, how voluptuous is the sensation of rest, of perfect re- 
pose ! How great a blessing to suffering humanity has God 
thus deposited in the most gloomy and desolate looking por- 
tion of his creation ! 

The habits of every house were alike. At sunrise break- 
fast was served, and the planters went out to visit their 
plantations. Those who owned estates in the neighbour- 
hood did this every day ; others at intervals, greater or less, 
throughout the week. But whether he visited his plantation 
or not, the planter was generally on his horse, and inspected 
those plantations which were within an easy ride. Hunting 
also afforded the means of passing the time. Deer and foxes 
abound in the neighbourhood, and the Santee swamp would 
sometimes furnish a still more exciting sport by offering 
wolves and bears to the hunters. After the morning's ride 
was over, the post office, or the village store, was the general 
rendezvous and lounging place. Here politics and crops 
were the never-failing topics of conversation. 

At one o'clock dinner was served. One old lady, who died 
in 1848, never dined later than half past twelve. A portion 
of the afternoon was always devoted to sleep. Every piazza 
was furnished with long benches, and these formed the rude 
beds on which the gentlemen invariably indulged in the lux- 
ury of the siesta. 

The siesta over, and whilst the sun was still high above 
the horizon, the kettle would bubble for the evening refection, 
and hot tea and cakes would be offered to refresh those 



30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTV. 

whose heavy sleep rendered some refreshment necessary. 
This early evening meal, of course, indicated that supper 
would close the labours of the day. And now the active 
duties of the day being over, and every family having re- 
freshed themselves with tea or coffee, social life commenced. 
Every one came to tea prepared either to make or receive 
visits. 

Bonnets and hats were articles of female dress which were 
entirely ignored in the Pineville evening visits. In attire a 
simple elegance prevailed. Young ladies usually dressed in 
white ; the aged were clad in graver colours. Visits were 
unceremonious. The guests were received in the piazza. 
No one ever expected to be invited into the house, and per- 
sons might spend a season in social intercourse with the 
people, without seeing the interior of any house but their 
own. Sometimes chairs were offered to the visitors, but, 
more generally, the long benches with which the piazza was 
furnished, were the only seats. No refreshments were offered 
or expected. But if any one asked for a glass of water, the 
experienced servant would hand a sufficient number of glasses 
of the pure element to satisfy every one present. For the 
water (got from wells) was cold, clear, insipid and refresh- 
ing, and all seemed to sympathise in each other's thirst. 

But though the visiting was done at night, and the piazza 
the reception room, the company did not sit in the dark. In 
front of the house, a fire of lightwood formerly, in later 
times of pine-straw, was kept constantly burning. The rea- 
sons for this practice were manifold. It diftused a cheerful 
light over the otherwise dark and gloomy lot. The smoke, 
too, was supposed to be conducive to health ; and the light 
certainly attracted night flies and moths from the inferior 
lights of the dv^^elling. Around these fires the children would 
sport. Each little fellow would take a pride in having a 
little fire of his own ; the larger and more daring would 
show their courage by leaping through the flames. Around 
its cheerful blaze time seemed to fly on golden wings. It 
was literally light to the dwelling, and a house without its 
yard fire appeared desolate and sorrow-stricken. It was the 
daily task of the hostler to collect materials sufficient to keep 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 31 

the light burning until bed-time. By ten o'clock social life 
was over, and the repose of sleep sought. Whilst the visitor 
was preparing to return home, the servant lit his lantern, and 
with this simple, but necessary escort, she trod the streets of 
the village with as much security as the halls of her own 
mansion. 

Hunting, riding and social visiting, were the several and 
separate amusments of the sexes in Pineville. The chief 
amusement of which they partook, in common, was dancing. 
The languid city belle, who cannot conceive of the exertion 
necessary to a dance in summer, except, indeed, under the 
exhilarating influence of a watering place, may stare ; but 
the unsophisticated youth of both sexes, in Pineville, regard- 
ed dancing as both proper and natural. The month of 
June would be devoted to feeling at home, and then, by way 
of making a start, the fourth of J uly would be celebrated by 
a ball. This first taste would be followed by a desire for 
more. During the heat of summer, parties, simple and of 
short duration, would be arranged by the gentlemen — a cer- 
tain number, in turn, bearing the moderate expense, and act- 
ing as managers ; so as to have one every fortnight. At 
these parties, the company would assemble early, and by 
midnight all would be quiet. As summer would wane, the 
passion would increase. The public assemblies were found 
to be of too rare occurrence, and all sorts of expedients 
would be resorted to, for the purpose of getting up a dance. 
If a lady should put her patch-work quilt in the quilting 
frame, the young ladies would go in the evening to assist 
in the interesting occupation of quilting, and the young gen- 
tlemen would go to assist the latter in threading their nee- 
dles. The rest may easily be guessed. In a short time, the 
quilting frame would disappear, and the young people would 
be found threading the mazes of the dance. Benevolent la- 
dies, too, would be importuned, and not in vain, to throw 
open their rooms to the young people. Private parties 
would multiply, and the season would close wuth the .Jockey 
Club Ball ; and now, all courtships being brought to a con- 
clusion, and frost having opened the doors of the prison- 



32 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

house, the village vi^ould pour out its inhabitants, and be- 
come, during the winter months, like a city of the dead. 

Nothing can be imagined more simple or more fascinating 
than those Pineville balls. Bear in mind, reader, that we 
are discussing old Pineville as it existed prior to 183G. No 
love of display governed the preparations ; no vain attempt 
to outshine a competitor in the world of fashion. Refresh- 
ments were provided of the simplest character, such only as 
the unusual exercise, and sitting beyond the usual hours of 
repose, would fairly warrant. Nothing to tempt a pam- 
pered appetite. Cards were usually provided to keep the 
elderly gentlemen quiet ; and the music was only that which 
the gentlemen's servants could produce. The company as- 
sembled early. No one ever thought of vi'aiting until bed- 
time to dress for the ball ; a country dance always com- 
menced the entertainment. The lady who stood at the head 
of the dancers, was entitled to call for the figure, and the old 
airs, Ca Ira, Moneymiish, Haste to the Wedding, and La Belle 
Catharine, were popular and familiar in Pineville, long after 
they had been forgotten, as dances, every where else. Ah, 
well do we remember, with what an exulting step would the 
young man, who had secured the girl of his choice, exhibit 
his powers of the poetry of motion, when his partner called 
for the sentimental air of La Belle Catharine. How proudly 
would he perform the pas seal on one side of the column, 
while his partner did the same on the other ; how gracefully 
would they unite at the head of the column, to cross hands; 
how triumphantly would he lead her down the middle ; and 
when the strain was closing, and the leader commenced 
with his bow, the prolonged rest on the final note, how full 
of sentiment, of grace and of courtesy, was the bow with 
which he would salute his fair lady ! But those are scenes 
to be lived over in thought. No untutored imagination can 
conceive them. They are gone forever. Even in Pineville, 
they have become things which were. Time can never re- 
store them ; but so long as an old Pineville heart beats, so 
long will be embalmed, in the most fragrant memory, the 
recollection of a Pineville country dance. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 33 

The staple dance of the evening, was the cotillion. But 
as this so much resembles the modern quadrille, it needs no 
special description. And now, when a country dance, and 
one or two cotillions, had gently stirred up the spirits of the 
dancers, the signal would be given for the exhilarating reel. 
A six-handed reel ! Come back for an instant, thou inexo- 
rable past, and bring again, before me, that most fascina- 
ting of movements ! No lover now claims the hand of his be- 
loved ; this is no scene for sentiment, for soft whisper, for 
the gentle pressure of the thrilling hand. No ; this is a 
dance. Your partner must be a lively, merry, laughter-lov- 
ing girl : brisk, active and animated. Let none venture on 
it, but the genuine votaries of Terpsichore. There is no 
room for atlected display. You must retain your self-pos- 
session, for the movement is brisk ; but w^ith self-possession, 
there is no fear of awkwardness. The reel is called ; the sets 
are formed, three couple in each, who generally agree to 
dance together. The music commences, and off they bound. 
In rapid succession, we have the chase, the hey, the figure 
of eight, right and left, cross hands, down the middle, grand 
round, cross again, and off the whole party darts again, to 
recommence the intoxicating reel. Has your glove come 
off? then dance ungloved, for you have no time to put it on 
again ; the hands must move as briskly as the feet. And as 
your pace quickens with intense delight, hark how the fid- 
dlers sympathise with your joy! Their stamps become 
quicker — the music plays with accelerated time, and bows 
and fingers move with a rapidity which Paganini might 
envy, but could never hope to emulate. The powers of en 
durance are taxed to the uttermost, and set after set retire 
exhausted. The last set left, generally contains some un- 
lucky wight of middle age, who ventures, once more, to en- 
joy the luxury of the dance. Now, how wickedly do his 
young companions, (his partner, the instigator,) persevere ! 
How gaily do they strive, by keeping him on his feet, to 
punish his presumption, in venturing among them. But 
they know not that men of a certain age possess powers of 
endurance beyond their tender years, and after a protracted 
contest, find that they have caught a tartar. The company 



34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

look on, all parties deeply sympathising, and the young are, 
at last, obliged to acknowledge themselves vanquished. 

The reel is the offspring of the genuine love of dancing. 
There are none of the auxiliary motives to learn its move- 
ments. No room for the gratification of vanity in the dis- 
play of graceful motion — no prurient fancy to be gratifiied 
by the privilege of encircling the waist of a handsome girl, 
and feeling her tresses kiss your cheek, at every step she 
takes in the whirl of the voluptuous waltz, or in the lasci- 
vious movements of the Schottisch, which we once heard a 
friend blunderingly, but happily, call a Sottise. It is a 
scene of perpetual motion and good humour. No solemn 
face may venture on it ; for laughter, gay and unconcerned, 
is its proper accompaniment. No soft nothings can here be 
whispered, for the duties of the dance require your constant 
attention : no graceful insouciance can be tolerated, for the 
comfort and happiness of others depend absolutely upon 
your own good behaviour, no less than upon theirs. Many 
persons, thinking it too fatiguing, have fancied that the 
Virginia reel might be a happy substitute for it. But this 
is long and languid. It is like diluted spirits, substituted for 
pure champagne. It languished, and in the phrase of an 
indictment, languishingly_^did live, until, at last, it died of its 
own stupidity. 

The evening's entertainment was always concluded with 
the Boulanger, a dance whose quiet movement seemed to 
come in appropriately, in order to permit the revellers to cool 
oft', before exposure to the night air. It was a matter of no 
small importance to secure a proper partner for this dance, 
because, by an old custom, whoever last danced with a lady, 
had a prescriptive right to see her home. And this reminds 
us of another peculiarity of Pineville life, viz : that though 
every family kept a carriage, nobody ever thought of re- 
turning from a ball by any other mode but on foot. No car- 
riage was ever seen in the streets after dark. The servant, 
with the lantern, marshalled the way; and the lady, escorted 
by her partner, was conducted to her home. And, as the 
season drew towards a close, how interesting became these 
walks ! how many words of love were spoken ! how many 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 35 

hearts saddened by the discovery oi" the hopelessness of an 
attachment ! how many persons, now living, whose destinies 
depended upon these walks ! To many a dancer, the bou- 
langer was a season of consciousness, of apprehension, of 
delight reined in, of hope and of fear ; and there are num- 
bers still living, in whose recollections a certain dance of this 
description will remain indelibly fixed. 

Besides regular and occasional dancing parties, riding par- 
ties would be got up to promote intercourse between the 
sexes ; for you must know, gentle reader, that love became 
an epidemic in Pineville, just like the fever, and that its ex- 
acerbations were alwaj'S greatest when the season was 
drawing to a close. The proprietor of a plantation in the 
neighbourhood, would invite the young people to drive there 
on some afternoon, and partake of the luxuries of plantation 
life. Then every young man hastened to secure a partner for 
the drive ; and, at the appointed hour, each in his gig, (for in 
those days gigs were, and buggies were not,) the happy party 
would set off, bound on enjoyment. The amusements, on such 
occasions, would be such as spontaneously suggested them- 
selves, but all was apt to terminate in the dance. And some- 
times it would happen, that the eager lover, grasping at his 
opportunity, would pop the question on the outvi^ard drive, 
and if refused, the luckless wight would have to endure the 
mortification of the homeward drive, tHe-a-tHe with her 
who had rejected the offer of his love. Oh, blessed be the 
healing hand of time, which can make the recollection of 
even such scenes a source of enjoyment ! 

The serenade is one of the most obvious modes of paying 
delicate attentions to a lady ; and those who possessed mu- 
sical skill frequently had their talents put in requisition hy 
>oung lovers. We almost always remarked, however, the 
observance of a sort of rigid impartiality in the performance 
of this attention. If a serenading party went out, every 
young lady camo in for her share of the compliment ; the 
only distinction being observed was, that the best airs, and 
the longest time, were devoted to those for whose favour the 
entertainment was specially provided. 

The season was always closed by the races and the .Tockey 



36 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

Club ball. The St. Stephen's race course, about half a mile 
from Pineville, is one of the oldest and best in the State. 
The track runs over a level surface, and within it is a large 
pond, w^hich, being drained and kept clear of trees, affords 
from every point an undisturbed view of the horses through- 
out the race. After the settlement of Pineville, the races 
were established for the end of October ; and, as the season 
is then comparatively safe, lovers of sport would there 
meet from various parts of the country. The races, which 
at that time continued two days, were ushered in by a din- 
ner and concluded by a ball. About fifty years ago, dancers 
of both sexes, drew lots for both places and partners, so that 
there was, for the first two sets at least, no liberty of choice; 
but the practice was discontinued too early for us to have 
any knowledge of it, but from tradition. The purses were 
altogether made up by a moderate subscription, as no money 
was taken at the gates ; and though the subscription was 
general, the stakes were too moderate to tempt the cupidity 
of professional sportsmen ; so that, I believe, no horse of 
distinction ever appeared on the course between the years 
1794 and 1830. Since that time, the club has been remod- 
elled, the time of meeting changed to January, the subscrip- 
tion increased, and the club now ranks among the most res- 
pectable in the State. 

Before we quit the subject of amusements in Pineville, it 
is meet that we conclude by showing one of their most nat- 
ural issues. Let us take you, reader, to a wedding. The spirit 
of improvement has pervaded every portion of the State, 
and a country wedding difters now very little from one cele- 
brated in the city. A Charleston pastry cook provides the 
entertainment, and Brissenden's band the music. The com- 
pany is invited to assemble at a late hour, and no one is ex- 
pected to stay over to breakfast. But it was not so in days 
of yore. It was not so when we hailed as a resident of 
Craven county. The events of 1830 have entirely changed 
the aspect of society, and the difference between the period 
before and that since that epoch, is as great as is generally 
perceived in the course of a century. Before the wedding, 
a visit to Charleston was indispensably necessary. The bride 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 37 

elect could not think of getting married, without making in 
person the arrangement of her trousseau. Then, a visit to 
Charleston was, by no means, an every day occurrence. An 
annual visit was common ; but there were many who let 
years pass over without seeing the metropolis. The prepar- 
atory visit being made, and all arrangements completed, the 
day would be fixed and invitations extended. Several days 
before the wedding, the bridesmaids would assemble at the 
house of the betrothed, and to them was committed all the 
preparations for the feast. The master of the house furnished 
the materials, and the busy and active lingers of the brides- 
maids transformed them into cakes and confections, jellies 
custards, tarts, and all other dainties which the occasion de- 
manded. The master and mistress appeared, as it were to 
retire from the management of the household, and leave 
everything to the control of those young friends who came 
to attend their companion to the sacrifice, and to prepare her 
for it. On the evening appointed, the bridegroom (who has 
been denied the entree to the house since the arrival of the 
bridesmaids) arrives, the invited guests follow, and, at the 
hour appointed, the hiippy couple stand before the priest and 
receive the nuptial benediction. And, as soon as this is pro- 
nounced, the fiddles, which are in waiting, strike up the time- 
honoured air of " A Health to the Bride." Friends and rel- 
atives crowd up, to offer their congratulations and good 
wishes, and the poor bride is at last permitted to take her 
seat, sadly in doubt whether the ceremony itself, or the con- 
gratulations upon it, were the severer trial. Now the waiters 
appear with tea and coffee, followed up directly with wine, 
cake and cordials, and this over, tlie dancing commences. 

The first groomsman opens the dance with the bride, the 
groom with the first bridesmaid, and, by a time-honoured 
custom, the air is " Haste to the Wedding." After this, the 
dancing continues until near midnight, when supper is an- 
nounced, and the bride is led into supper by the first grooms- 
man. The supper table is a bona fide supper table, arranged 
to hold all the guests. Considerable ingenuity is shown in 
devising a suitable form, so as to afford the greatest accom- 
modation, and in decorating it. Towers of cake, wreaths, 



38 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP CRAVEN COUNTY. 

ornaments of every description, may be seen, while by their 
side an ample provision of turkeys, of ducks, of hams, of 
rice, and of bread, all showing that it is not a sham, nor de- 
signed to be treated as such; wine, too, flows in abundance; 
in fact, the only article which appears to be scarce, is water. 
Toasts are drunk ; jokes fly about, and all are happy, except 
the parties most concerned, who feel that, though happy, it 
is too newly to be quite at rest. 

After supper, the bride disappears. She is no longer seen 
in the festive hall ; but the music is playing, and the dancing 
is proceeding, and, one by one, the bridesmaids drop in, look- 
ing very mysteriously, and the dancing proceeds, not the less 
boisterous from being after supper ; and, by degrees, the el- 
derly folks drop off, and the groom becomes missing, and the 
hours wear on apace, and the dance becomes more languid, 
and by two or three o'clock in the morning all becomes 
quiet, and the parties have sought their beds, to recover 
strength for the duties of the following day. 

And herein was exhibited the old-fashioned hospitality of 
the planters. Every guest was lodged for the night. Beds 
were arranged everywhere. If the house was too small, 
some outbuilding was arranged for the occasion. And, oh 
reader, if you were oul of the young men, you would have 
enjoyed that night ; but, if you had passed the first excite- 
ment of young blood, and were entertaining any vague con- 
ceptions of the blessing of repose, after a night of revelry, 
you were doomed to a cruel disappointment. Every device 
that ingenious youth can invent, is brought to disturb your 
repose. Perhaps, on entering your sleeping apartment, you 
find your bed suspended near the ceiling. If you succeed 
in depositing your wearied body, you are roused by the en- 
trance of a gang of roistering visitors, who come to inquire 
after your repose. Well ! we have had our share of the 
sport, and must not repine if we have had to witness the 
day, or rather the night, of retribution. In time, however, 
even the most restless spirits are exhausted, and, by the dawn 
of day, sleep comes to give repose to your wearied brow. 

If your lot gives you a bed in the house, your ears are sa- 
luted, soon after dawn, by the fiddlers playing, at the door of 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 39 

the nuptial chamber, the old air of " Health to the Bride," 
and, somehow, it happens that the groom is always the first 
stirring after this. 

As the morning advances, the company gradually assemble 
in the drawing-room, and breakfast is announced. Each 
bridesmaid presides at a certain portion of the breakfast 
table, and the scene here is almost as hilarious as that of 
last evening's supper. After breakfast, the house becomes 
quiet. The gentlemen mount their horses and ride off, some- 
times to hunt — at all events, to take hearty and vigorous 
exercise, for nothing is more conducive to dispel the effects 
of last night's dissipation. At two o'clock, the company re- 
assemble ; and, on this occasion, you will find all the neigh- 
bours within visiting distance, (which may be twenty-five 
miles,) who are invited to partake of the festivities of the 
occasion. From the dinner table, the party adjourn to the 
ball-room, and last night's scene is repeated. On the mornino- 
of the third day, the party disperses, and the young couple is 
left to the enjoyment of domestic bliss. 

We have already said that the citizens of Pineville were 
all planters. Unpretending and unambitious, they never 
sought distinction in the walks of public life. We hope it 
may not be thought invidious, if we .lotice, among the dead, 
a few of those who may be considered among the notabilities 
of the place. 

We have had occasion, already, to introduce the name of 
Capt. John Palmer, the father and founder of the village. 
By the maternal line, he was the great-grandson of Philip 
Gendron, the Huguenot emigrant, who has been more than 
once named in this essay. His father, Mr. John Palmer, of 
Gravel Hill, was so distinguished for enterprise and success, 
in the making of turpentine, that he is known by tradition, 
even now, after the lapse of more than seventy years, as 
Turpentine John Palmer. Capt. Palmer was an active par- 
tizan, during the war of the revolution, and secured the 
esteem of Marion, who made him one of his aids. He was 
a fine model of a patriarch. Benevolent, his hand was as 
open as day to melting charity, but no autocrat could be 
more arbitrary. No one dared dispute with him, for his ar- 



40 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

guments were all ad Jiominem; but, by appearing to yield, 
the weakest would gain their point with him. He had never 
been indoctrinated in the arts of logic or rhetoric, but his 
letters, many of which we have seen, are excellent speci- 
mens of clear good sense and pure idiomatic English. It is 
remarkable that this quality of style is, by no means, as 
common now as then, when the means of education were 
not so easily procurable. After struggling manfully and suc- 
cessfully through the gloomy and disastrous period, from the 
commencement of the war to the introduction of cotton, he 
died in 1817, aged G8 years, leaving a large number of de- 
scendants by four children, three of whom survived him. 

Capt. Peter Gaillard w^as another of the founders of the 
village. He was several years the junior of Capt. Palmer, 
whose eldest daughter he married en second noces. He pos- 
sessed an ample patrimony, but in common with other 
wealthy men, found, that in consequence of the depressed 
state of the agriculfural interest, and the precarious nature 
of the Santee swamp on which his estates lay, his wealth 
was only a source of expense, and ruin appeared to stare 
him in the face. The frequency of the freshets in Santee 
swamp, making it almost impossible to raise corn in it, he 
purchased, about the year 1794, a tract of land near Nel- 
son's Ferry, in St. John's, Berkley, for the purpose of culti- 
vating provisions. In that year Gen. Moultrie planted cot- 
ton on his Northampton estate, in the same parish. The 
next year Capt. Gaillard tried it on his new purchase, the 
Rocks, and found that the soil was eminently congenial. 
His success (Gen. Moultrie's experiment appears to have 
been^ a failure) gave an impetus to the new culture, and be- 
fore the year 1800, cotton was the staple culture of those two 
parishes. It is about twenty years since Capt. Gaillard's 
death, and perhaps thirty since he retired from the pursuit 
of agriculture ; but such was the strength of his mind, the 
correctness of his observations, and the soundness of his 
judgment, that it may be doubted whether any material im- 
provement has been effected in the cotton culture since his 
time. His opinions are still quoted with respect by those 
who knew him, and those who never enjoyed that advan- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 41 

tage reverently embrace the traditions and ponder over 
them. He was a remarkably gentlemanlike looking man; 
one of tlte last who continued the use of fair-top boots. He 
is said to have been fond of carving with his knife, and the 
balustrades of his piazza bore testimony to this trait. Having 
built a fine new house on the Rocks plantation, he aban- 
doned the habit, so far as the house was concerned ; but a 
servfint always brought him a cypress shingle after dinner, 
on which he would indulge in his favourite pursuit. He 
was three times married. His first wife, the only one by 
whom he had issue, was Miss Porcher, sister of the late 
Major Samuel Porcher. The second was Anna tStevens, 
n6e Palmei', widow of Oneal Gough Stevens ; and his third, 
Caroline Theus, nee Theus, widow of Mr. Thcus, formerly 
an eminent merchant of Charleston. He left a large family 
of sons and daughters, and his descendants are very nu- 
merous. 

Science and humanity mourned, in 1817, the untimely 
death of Dr. James Macbride. He was a native of Sumter 
District, and w-as educated at Yale College, where he was a 
contemporary' of Mr. Calhoun, and of our late venerable 
Bishop. He engaged in the pursuit of medicine, and, settling 
in Pinevill^, married Miss Eleanor Gourdin, daughter of the 
Hon. Theodore Gourdin, of that village. As a physician he 
was eminently successful, and he was distinguished for sound 
judgment and a thorough knowledge of his profession. He 
removed to Charleston to enter upon a wider field of prac- 
tice, but before he had time to reap any of the promised 
fruit, fell a victim to yellow fever. The opinions of Dr. Mac- 
bride are treasured, and to this day quoted with respect. He 
had an intuitive perception of truth ; in matters which were 
the subjects merel}'^ of conjecture, subsequent researches 
have proved the accuracy of his judgments. His recreation 
was Botan}'. He was the friend and correspondent of Elli- 
ott, and assisted largely in the preparation of the Botany of 
South-Carolina and Georgia. Mr. Elliott acknowledged the 
obligation, and, in the preface to his work, has paid a touch- 
ing and aflectionate tribute to the memory of one who richly 
deserved his regard, and could fully appreciate his own ge- 



42 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

nius. Dr. Macbride left a son and two daughters. His 
widow survived him many years, and was universally ad- 
mired for the excellence of her disposition and the elegance 
of her manners. His son lived but to see manhood. His 
daughters still survive. 

Among the earliest victims of that terrible malady which, 
for a time, depopulated Pineville, was Dr. John J. Couturier. 
He was a native of St. Stephen's parish, was educated at 
the Pineville Academy, in which afterwards he served as an 
assistant teacher, and succeeded to the practice of Dr. Mac- 
bride. For seventeen years he laboured assiduously in his 
vocation, and his zeal, his activity, his skill, and his unaf- 
fected benevolence, secured him the love and respect of a 
large clientage. His income was large, but hardly ex- 
ceeded his expenditure ; and his friends would often urge 
him to exact of some of his poor patients a moderate paj'^- 
ment — if not in money, at least, in articles of country pro- 
duce, which would be useful to him and convenient for them 
to spare. But he would never consent. He looked for pay- 
ment in another world, and would always say that he had a 
better paymaster than any of his patients could ever be. He 
died in 1834. His widow, formerly Miss Palmer, daughter of 
John, and grand-daughter of Capt. John Palmer, and their 
three daughters, still survive. 

Mr. Charles Stevens was one of the most respected citi- 
zens of Pineville. Feeling himself endowed with talents 
which he would not willingly permit to lie idle, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and hoped to devote himself to the calling 
of his profession. But a cruel deafness seized him, which 
proved incurable, and forever destroyed his hopes. Before 
it had become so great as to shut him out from social inter- 
course, he spent two years in the occupation of teacher in 
the Pineville Academy, and then he engaged i.i commerce, 
and opened a store in Pineville, which, for many years, fur- 
nished the planters with their wants, and brought him 
wealth. His deafness increased to such an extent, that he 
could hear only when the speaker's mouth was applied to 
his ear. And yet he could always converse with ease with 
the members of his famil3\ Mr. Stevens was an interested 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 43 

observer of politics, and on all stirring occasions, took such 
an active part, by means of his pen, that, with his acknowl- 
edged abilities, he was regarded as one of the leading nninds 
of the late Union party. Thoroughly excluded, however, from 
familiar intercourse with men, he lived very much in a world 
of his own creation, and his views of politics were better 
adapted to a Utopia of his own imagination, than to the ac- 
tual world. He was universally beloved as well as esteemed. 
All his influence was directed to the cultivation of the lite- 
rary tastes of his neighbours. He died in 1833. He mar- 
ried Susan, daughter of Mr. Rem' Ravenel, and his widow, 
a son and three daughters, survived him. 

In 18,j1, Major Samuel Porcher, the last surviving founder 
of Pinevilic, died, in the 83d year of his age. Major Porcher 
was educated in England, and on returning home after the 
war, commenced his career, as an agriculturist, on his plan- 
tation, Mexico, in St. Stephen's parish. In common with all 
other planters, his life was a struggle until the introduction 
of the cotton culture, when he adopted it, and cultivated it 
with great success to the end of his life. He entertained a 
high opinion of the value of the lands in Santee swamp. 
He inherited a large estate in it, and made numerous addi- 
tions by purchase, all of which he determined to secure from 
the freshets by means of an embankment. To this work, 
therefore, he addressed himself, and resting his bank on the 
south bank of the Santee Canal, he continued it four miles 
down the river, where it now stands, the greatest result of 
private enterprise, perhaps, in the southern country. The 
embankment is four miles in length, its base is thirty feet, its 
height nine feet, and is is so wide at the top that two per- 
sons may very conveniently cross each other on horseback. 
By means of this embankment he has reclaimed the upper 
portion of the swamp, which now yields largo crops of corn 
and other grain. All that is wanting to render the work 
thoroughly' successful, is a continuation by his neighbours, to 
the next bluff or headland on the river. If this were done, 
some of the best lands in America would be redeemed for 
cultivation. The major was one of the happiest, the most 



44 nrsTORicAL sketch of craven county. 

amiable and the most popular men in the state. At the age 
of tvvent3--one he married his cousin, Harriet Porcher, and 
the}' lived together more than fifty years. She died in 1843. 
Their home was the abode of elegant and of heartfelt hos- 
pitality. In winter they were rarely without guests, and at 
Christmas the house seemed to overflow with company, 
consisting not only of their numerous descendants, but of 
others who, in return for unaffected kindness, voluntarily 
offered this grateful attention. The major was all his life 
subject to asthma, and he smoked incessantly". He eschewed 
the Spanish tobacco as a nuisance, but always had on hand 
a provision of several tiiousand American segars, which 
were made to his order. He was a mnn of great personal 
activity, and, in the last year of his life, managed his horse 
with the fearlessness and dextei ity of a youth. He had lived 
so long with his wife, that he could hardh" carry back his 
thoughts to the time when she was not his companion ; and, 
after her death, he continued to speak of her as if she were 
still alive. He never, like many others, avoided the mention 
of her name. On the contrary, he took a positive pleasure 
in making her the subject of conversation. Her sayings and 
doings were spoken of as familiarly and as naturally as if 
she still remained at the head of her famil}-. It ought to 
be mentioned, as highly creditable to both employer and 
overseer, that at the time of his death, his overseer, Mr. 
Samuel Foxwortb, had lived with him in that capacity up- 
wards of thirty years. Two sons survive the major, besides 
numerous other descendants by a son and daughter whom he 
survived. 

Mr. Robert Marion, formerly a member of Congress from 
the Charleston District, and Mr. Theodore Gourdin, a mem- 
ber from the North-eastern District, both lived in Pineville. 
Mrs. Anna Peyre Dinnics, now so favourably known in 
American literature, was also, in her youth, a resident of 
Pineville, and so was the late Rev. Edward Thomas, rector, 
formerly of the church on Edisto, afterwards of St, John's, 
Berkley. John Gaillard, who, so many years, represented 
the State in the Senate of the United States, and Judge 



nrSTORlCAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 45 

Gaillard, were both natives of St, Stephen's, but nover, I 
believe, residents of Pinevillc* 

Among the lions of Pinoville, was John Wall, an Irish- 
man by birth, who lived tliere in the capacity of factor or 
general agent for Mr. Theodore Gourdin. lie was an old, 
weather-beaten man, with a great deal of irascibility, tem- 
pered with a large stock of benevolence. His predomina- 
ting idea was, attachment to the interest of his patron. He 
always wore his hair in a queue, and on Sundays, would ap- 
pear at church in knee breeches and silk stockings. His 
veins, which age had enlarged, would show themselves 
through his stockings, and the irreverent boys would point to 
them in ridicule, believing, that, in order to give more dig- 
nity to his shrunk calves, he had stuffed them with paper. 
He was useful to tlie public, by discharging ihe duties of a 
magistrate, and when Mr. dourdin's influence promoted 
Pineville to the rank of a post town, Mr. Wall w.is appointed 
the postmaster. He had the rciUitation of being a misor, 
but we believe he hoarded only bt his patron. Mr. (Gourdin 
was a man full of many schemes, which were i);tt very pro- 
fitable, and Mr. Wall v/assaid to 'iav(n)een never so happy 



* Craven county may cuumerati', among her notabilitiess, tlie notorious Da»id 
Hine3. This person has been the subject ol two biographies, one of whicli is, wo 
believe, written by himself. We have never read either of llieni ; but the last hap- 
pening to fall into our hand-*, during a disengaged hour, we skimmed over a few of 
the introductory pages, and found them a tissue of falsehoods. lie was born in St. 
Stejilien's parish ; his father was a poor, but wortliy and inoilensivc, man ; of his 
mother, we cannot be certain of any information, and choose, tlicrrfore, to be silent. 
He first appeared before the public, as a rider at one of the Pineville races, when 
being thrown from his horse, considerable interest was cxeiiod in his behalf. lie 
got employment on the plantation of Mr. .John Palmer, of Mahani's, in the humble 
capacity of cow-minder, and soon after, was charged with the commission of a 
forgery, the trial for which resulted in his acquittal, but led the way to a subse- 
quent extensive acquaintance with the Court of Sessions. Lie has no pretensions 
whatever, to the title ol M. D., which he assumes. We h;ive always considered hiu 
career as a proof of the extreme gullibility of the Amcrienn peo|)le. He has as- 
sumed, with success, the best names in the State, without posses.sing the manners, 
the aJiiress, or even the external appearance of a gentleman; and he is destitute 
of all Ialcnt3, requisite for the profession of a rogue, except that of matchless ef- 
frontery. 



46 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

as when his patron was prevented from intermeddling in his 
own business, by his avocations in Washington, as a mem- 
ber of Congress. The mutual attachment of the benevolent 
patron and the humble factor, reflected the brightest credit 
upon each. Mr. Gourdin bequeathed to him an annuity as 
a token of his sense of the value of his services, but the de- 
voted friend did not enjoy his munificence. He survived his 
patron but a few months, and appeared to die of a broken 
heart, lamenting the only man he ever loved. 

Before we bring this long and desultorj' sketch to a close, 
the nature of the subject appears to call for some remarks 
respecting health and disease. It was the search after 
health, which led to the settlement of Pineville, and it was 
the prevalence long continued, of a fearful malady, which, 
in 183G, drove the inhabitants to seek refuge elsewhere. 

Whoever will consult Mouzon's map of St. Stephen's Dis- 
trict, and compare it with the aspect which a map of the 
same region, if now constructed, would present, will na- 
turally inqiiire, to what causes such a melancholy contrast 
is to be attributed. In the palmy days of this parish, the 
fourteen miles of road, which wc described at the com- 
mencement of this sketch, as leading from the canal to the 
church, passed in sight of upwards of twenty plantations. 
And such is the depth of the swamp, and so great was the 
demand for its valuable lands, that many more were to be 
found in the interior which were not seen from the road. 
The first cause of this desolation, is to be found in the fre- 
quency and the irregularity of the freshets in the Santee 
river, which have reduced the garden of the state to an ab- 
solute wilderness. A few of the names on Mouzon's map, 
are extinct; but the greater part may still be found in St. 
John's Berkley, between Monck's Corner and the Eutaw 
Springs. Before the introduction of the cotton culture, the 
lands of this last parish were hchl in very little esteem. 
Mr. Philip Porcher had four sons, to whom he left planta- 
tions, and he was accustomed to lament the lot of him who 
had only a place in St. John's. That was the only son who 
was not compelled to quit his patrimony. The three others, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP CRAVEN COUNTY. 47 

who were left to the inheritance of Santee lands, were all 
obliged to abandon them, and seek in St. John's the means 
of making cotton. 

How far the unhealthiness of the country may have con- 
tributed to its depopulation, it is difficult to say. Our own 
opinion is, that the insalubrity of our climate lias been 
greatly exaggerated. Nothing is more certain, than that 
we readily accommodate our.°eIves to a given standard of 
health, and scarcely desire any improvement on it. The 
tone of sentiment on this subject, as well as on others, is, in 
a great measure, derived from the metropolis, and just in 
proportion as the sanitary condition of Charleston has im- 
proved, does that of the surrounding country appear to have 
deteriorated. We have seen letters written from Somerton 
plantation, in midsummer, 1725, in which the writer sptaks 
of having retired thither from the insalubrious climate of 
Charleston. We have heard the late Mr. Daniel Webb say, 
that when a child, he was carried from Charleston to the 
neighbourhood of Eutavv, for the benefit of his health. And 
it was a common practice, for the late Mrs. Plowden Wes- 
ton, and her sister, Mrs. William Mazyck, to pay an annual 
visit every midsummer, to the plantation of their brother, 
Mr. Philip Porcher — a great inducement then, being a re- 
treat from the summer heat of the city, and the enjoyment 
of the luxuries of plantation life at that season. This gen- 
tleman died on his plantation, on Santee swamp, in IHOO, at 
the advanced age of seventy. At one period of his life, he 
had lived in Charleston, but for several years he resided en- 
tirely on his plantation ; and we have often heard it said, that 
though within six miles of the village, and having built 
houses there, for several of his children, he never saw Pine- 
ville. Mr. Edward Thomas, who died at the age of ninety, 
is said to have spent forty years without once quitting his 
plantation. It becomes, therefore, an interesting inquiry, 
what was the state of public health — what advantage was 
gained by the settlement of Pineville, and at what price. 

The bane of this parish, like that of every portion of 
America, south and west of the Hudson river, was, and is, 
the intermittent fever of the autumnal months. This. 



48 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 



when of frequent occurrence, becomes habitual, is attended 
with enlargement of the spleen, a tendency to drops)', and a 
general prostration of the moral and intellectual, as well as 
of the physical man. This disorder was, perhaps, not more 
malignant in St. Stephen's than elsewhere; but nature had 
kindl}^ furnished an asylum wherein tlie ague-stricken pa- 
tient might breathe in safety — recover from his malady, and 
enjoy the blessing of health, both of mind and of body. 
This asylum is the pine land. Here is enjoyed an exemption 
from intermittent fevers. 

But this exemption is purchased at a price which is often 
fatal. In proportion to the salubrity of the climate, is the 
danger attending exposure to one less healthful. And the 
price of exposure, is not merely a simple and teasing inter- 
mittent ; but a fever, sharp, severe, dangerous and frequently 
fatal. Few kinds of fever can be named more dreaded by 
the people of Charleston, than the fever which is there found 
under the name of country fever ; and yet, we have often 
heard Dr. Couturier declare, that he had never seen a case 
of it in the whole range of his extensive practice. Equally 
dreaded and equall}' fatal is the myrtle fever, of Sullivan's 
Island ; and yet, no where do we find a higher enjoyment of 
health, than in' Charleston and on the Island, the seats of 
these dreaded enemies. These are the price which the peo- 
ple pay for exposure, and a price of the same kind is exacted 
everywhere else. So, when the people of Pineville would 
be alarmed by the visitation of a hot and agonizing fever, 
which threatened, if not speedily arrested, to terminate fa- 
tally, the people of the surrounding country would have no 
ailments of a more alarming character than the ordinary 
intermittent of the climate. Now, so highly do we value 
the sensation of perfect health, that in order to enjoy it, we 
would run the risk of incurring even a worse penalty than 
country fever. But any violation of the condition of its en- 
joyment — that is, any exposure at improper seasons, and under 
unfavourable circumstances — renders one liable to be called 
upon to endure the penalty. It must be confessed, however, 
that even when no violation had been offered to the condi- 
tions, not only Pineville, but every other pine land, has pre- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 4U 

sentecl sporadic cases of fevers. There are persons so sen- 
sitively and ridiculously alive to the reputation of a place 
for health, that no case of fever can occur without the cause 
being diligently investigated : and this ascertained, how friv- 
olous soever it nnay be, the poor patient is allowed to die as 
soon as he may. And it is astonishing how frivolous are 
the causes which are sometimes gravely assigned and be- 
lieved. Thus, we remember when the first case of yellow 
fever made its appearance in Charleston, in 183i), it was 
said that the j'oung man, its victim, had neglected to provide 
himself with a sufficient number of towels on going to -the 
bath, and was consequently obliged to spend some time in 
damp clothes. It never occurred to these good people, that 
if such a trivial neglect could produce such fatal conse- 
quences, it would argue a deadliness of climate, which 
ought to make every one, who has it in his power, abandon 
it at once and forever. And we could not but remember 
how, when a school boy, we used to run two miles to Ma- 
ham's mill pond, and on Saturday, spent the whole morning 
there in the luxurious bath, and no one ever dreamed of a 
luxury i!! the shape of a towel, beyond our ordinary handker- 
chiefs. The trulh is, that diseases, levers particularly, come 
from God ; to what end, we know not precisely, but n good 
one, we may be certain. If there were no fevers provided 
for us, we would be deprived of one of the means of quit- 
ting tills v/orld ; and it is worse than useless to speculate 
upon tlie causes which, in eveiy case, and we believe we may 
say, many case, generate this disorder. 

A pretty extensive observation has convinced us, that we 
know absolutely nothing of the causes of fever. We have 
seen overseers living, year after year, in the rice fields of 
Cooper river, in the uninterrupted enjoyment of perfect 
health. These instances are too common to he marked as ex- 
ceptions. We have generally observed that those overseers 
are least sickly, who are required to spend their summers on 
the plantation. We have known others, who preserved their 
health until they resorted to the pine-lands. In such cases 
OUT rationale of the cause is this : The overseer must be on 
the plantation late in the evening, and early in the morning. 
5 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 

If he lives on the plantation, he has no occasion to rise be- 
fore his usual hour ; if he retires to a pine-land, he must ab- 
stract from sleep that portion of time which is occupied in 
going to, and returning from, the plantation. Now, the 
summer nights are very short, and though one may, without 
inconvenience, dispense with a half-hour's sleep, on any given 
occasion, yet this trilling amount tells in the aggregate, and 
the climate has full opportunity to work upon the exhausted 
body. As a general rule, too, the overseers are generally 
more healthy, whether living on plantations or in pine-lands, 
than men of the same class, living on their own pine-land 
farms. A more generous diet enables them to resist, more 
eft'ectually, the effects of the climate; and, we believe, that 
any planter, who keeps a good table, and enjoys it in mod- 
eration ; who will not drink too much wine, or other stimu- 
lating liquors; and who will not suffer his spirits to be de- 
pressed by the ominous croakings of his friends, may pass 
the summer on his plantation, if not in perfect health, at 
lea<-t, with no visitation more fearful than the intermittent 
fever of the climate. The late Dr. Charles Rutledge spent 
the summer of 1800 on Accabee plantation, and his family 
enjoyed perfect health. In 183!). when the yellow fever 
raged in Charleston, and the citadel was full of pestilence, 
INlajor Parker removed his family, in midsummer, to the 
Martello towers, and they all enjoyed perfect health there. 
Other cases may, without much trouble, be enumerated, all 
going to prove, not that the climate has changed, as our 
people so rashly assert, but that tlie city has become more 
henlthful, and that our people have a greater fear of fever 
than formerly. The great danger to be apprehended, is not 
the remittent fever, which proceeds, by rapid stages, to a fa- 
tal crisis, but the slow and lingering intermittent. As we 
have l)etore said, it is the repetition of these attacks which 
breaks down the man. They tell fearfully, too, upon chil- 
dren, who have not the stiength to bear up against their rav- 
ages. The}' get ague cakes, and smiles and laughter no 
longer play about their little faces, and they know nothing 
of (he joy:^ ;»nd sports of childhood, and their melancholy 
countenances prey upon your spirits, as you behold their list- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. 51 

less tawny faces; and, at last, God, in his mercy, takes them 
to himself, and they trouble this world no more. It is the 
child, therefore, who has special cause to bless the benevo- 
lence which provides the pine-lands. There, they feel the 
balmy air, as it kisses their cheeks, and it seems the breath 
of God, inviting them to be happy, and laughter and childish 
glee fill the air with their hopeful and heart-reviving sounds. 
And let not the carping critic point to the tomb-stones which 
cluster about the cemeteries of our country, and show how 
manj' have died in childhood, and in the prime of manhood, 
even under the favouring infiuence of the pine-land air. Re- 
gard not their death. That is the debt of nature. But look 
to their lives. If they were hnppy in life, there is little to be 
regretted in their death. But we must return to Pineville. 
Though seasons would occur, in which sickness and death 
would make their appearance in forms more appalling than 
usual, yet there was generally this consolation, that the rest 
of the country was equally the subject of the visitation. 
Thus, in 18i7and in 1819, the village was clad in mourning, 
but disease and death were making hurried strides every- 
where else. In the meantime, all the usual appliances for 
preserving the public health were adopted. The ponds were 
drained, the ditches kept open, trees encouraged to grow, 
yard lircs kept up every night, and, when the village had en- 
tered upon its fortieth year, its inhabitants fondly hoped that 
it was the abode of as much health as Providence deigns 
award to man. It was in autumn, 1833, that the first cases 
of that malady occurred, which drove away the people. A 
gentleman, we believe it was Mr. John Ravenel, was sick. 
The season was uncommonly dry, and the swamps exhaled 
offensive vapours; his daily rides led him by one of these, 
and he was supposed to have been poisoned by its exhala- 
tions. But, he was not alarmingly ill. His fever appeared 
to intermit, and men began to inquire whether fever and ague 
was to be one of the diseases of the village. And those who 
were not connected with him !)y any ties of intimacy, almost, 
perhaps quite, forgot that he was sick, when, suddenl}', a ru- 
mour flies through the village, that he is dying. And it was 
even so. The insidious i^c\ev, after amusing his victim for 



52 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRAVEN COUNTY. '""^^ 

some days, and lulling his friends into a fatal sense of seen- 
rity,suddenly seized him with a rigour so intense, that neither 
the patient's strength could resist it, nor mortal skill success- 
full^^ oppose it, and before the hot fit could come on, he \vas 
dead. Another case, of a similar character, occurred, and 
the people gratefully welcomed the benignant frost, 
which stopped the progress of the fever, and opened the 
doors of their pi-ison-house. The next summer, 1834, the 
fever returned ; and, in that and the two succeeding summers, 
it continued its ravages, until the most sanguine became de- 
sponding, and the village was almost totally deserted. 

And, as no cause could be assigned for the fearful visita- 
tion, so health again mysteriously returned to its ancient 
abode. By slow degrees, the deserted houses again received 
their tenants. Men began to forget their former terrors, and 
returned ; and Pineville is again the abode of a number of 
planters. The prestige of its ancient fame still remains, to 
give it a sort of metropolitan character over the neighbouring 
villages of Pinopolis, Eutawville, New Hope, and others, 
which have sprung up, liiie ancient colonies, cherishing the 
sacred fires from the hearth of the maternal state. It justly 
boasts of its delicious shades, of its clear, cool and refreshing 
water, but it no longer claims a monopoly of health. And, 
while other villages flourish in its neighbourhood, and the com- 
munication with Charleston has become more easy, the sense 
of isolation, which once gave its people a peculiar charac- 
teristic, no longer is felt, and they have become cosmopolitan. 
The old times have gone, never to return ; and, it is to call 
back the memory of the first fifteen years of our life, and of 
the two which followed our accession to manhood, that we 
have made this humble attempt to depict scenes which, 
though perhaps faded, can never be forgotten. 

F. A. P 



